A lot of tech companies position themselves as digital product agencies. They claim to deliver end-to-end product solutions, but look a little closer, and they’re just shipping code.
I’m calling bullshit on this practice.
Real product agencies balance design, development, and business strategy to create products that solve problems, deliver value, and drive outcomes. Overstaffing developers, under-resourcing design, and neglecting strategic conversations isn’t building products. It’s a production line disguised as a product team.
Balance Your Team
A team stacked with developers and thin on designers is built to execute, not to create cohesive products. Effective teams bring together designers, developers, and business strategists, all equally involved from concept to launch. When design is under-resourced, it becomes surface-level. Designers are brought in to make things look good instead of influencing key product decisions.
The absence of strategic input causes the work to drift. Developers end up building features without understanding the underlying business goals, and design becomes a cosmetic layer rather than a strategic element. Structuring projects to keep design and business as present as development maintains alignment with the product vision. Each function shapes the final outcome, not just completing their assigned tasks.
A workforce dominated by developers without strategic input is structured for output, not impact.
Integrate Workflows
Strict handoffs between design and development don’t lead to cohesive products. They create disconnected features. Design and development are not separate stages but intertwined practices that need to work together from start to finish.
When designers hand off screens without context and developers build based on assumptions, the result is a fragmented product. Features function in isolation instead of forming a seamless experience. Maintaining alignment throughout the project prevents these gaps. Designers and developers should collaborate continuously, discussing technical feasibility, iterating on interactions, and addressing potential issues as a team.
Strictly following handoffs creates silos. Connecting the work across stages is what builds a cohesive product.
Set Your Standards
Debating frameworks and file structures is not progress. It’s friction. Standards establish a common ground, preventing projects from going in different directions based on personal preferences. If the organisation uses specific frameworks, that should be defined upfront, not argued over.
Assign leads to define standards for file structure, component naming, and documentation. Make sure guidelines are communicated clearly and include criteria for exceptions. Updates should be driven by proven solutions, not personal whims.
Arguing over frameworks rather than solving client problems is a sign of internal misalignment.
Understand the Problem
Diving straight into execution without clearly defining the problem is a common mistake. Effective projects begin with a structured approach to uncovering what truly needs to be solved. This involves running workshops or design sprints where business leads, designers, and developers work alongside the client to unpack the challenge, capture pain points, and align on specific outcomes.
These sessions do more than set expectations. They surface hidden complexities, highlight conflicting priorities, and clarify what success looks like for both the client and the team. Dedicating time to this phase prevents rushed estimates and misaligned efforts later on.
A shared understanding of the problem is not just a step in the process. It’s the foundation that keeps the work focused, purposeful, and strategically aligned.
Manage the Scope
When deadlines loom and budgets tighten, development teams often start slicing features to stay on track. What begins as minor adjustments can quickly turn into wholesale descoping, with entire sections of the product being cut to meet timelines. The result is a butchered product that no longer resembles the original vision.
Scope management is not about cramming everything in or cutting corners at the last minute. It’s about making deliberate decisions that protect both the budget and the product’s integrity. Planning in sprints allows issues to be identified early and adjustments made without gutting the work.
When changes are unavoidable, clearly communicate how adjustments will impact cost, timing, and deliverables. It’s not about saving face; it’s about maintaining the integrity of the product without turning it into a shell of what was promised.
Build Reusable Assets
Starting every project from scratch is a waste of resources. Product-focused teams invest in reusable assets like design systems, code libraries, and templates that provide consistency and reduce effort.
Asset development should be treated as an ongoing practice, not a one-time task. Assign leads to maintain and update these resources as living documents. Reusable assets streamline the work, reduce churn, and provide a solid foundation for future projects.
Insisting on starting fresh every time is not innovation. It’s inefficiency.
Build Client Relationships
Treating client interaction as a distraction rather than an opportunity is a missed chance to gain insight. Casual conversations build trust, uncover deeper needs, and strengthen working relationships. Discouraging engagement with clients means losing valuable context.
Not every interaction needs to be a meeting. Casual chats over a drink, a check-in email, or a short call can reveal crucial information that formal meetings might miss. Viewing client relationships as a line item on the budget misses the bigger picture.
Focusing solely on tasks while ignoring client connections is not product work. It’s order-taking.
Culture Isn’t a Performance Metric
A culture measured by attendance at social events or who posts the most emojis on Slack is performative, not authentic. Real culture emerges through how people work together, communicate, and resolve conflicts. It’s built on shared values, not forced interactions.
Inclusive cultures allow people to participate or not without fear of judgment. No one should feel pressured to attend social events to maintain good standing in the team.
Culture isn’t a checkbox to tick. It’s the environment shaped by how people work, not by how many quizzes they join.
Beyond Build
When the work ends the moment a product ships, opportunities for impact are missed. Taking responsibility for the go-to-market phase is not an afterthought. It is a critical extension of product work.
Creating landing pages, demo videos, messaging frameworks, and sales collateral ensures the product reaches its audience effectively. Staying involved post-launch allows for tracking user feedback, monitoring performance, and iterating to improve outcomes.
Dropping out after handoff isn’t product work. It’s project work that misses the long-term value.
Some agencies claim to build products, but their practices tell a different story. Structures centered around developers without strategic input, workflows based on handoffs instead of collaboration, and a focus on task completion rather than outcomes are easy to spot. Real product work is about alignment across design, development, and business strategy. It’s about creating meaningful connections between teams, clients, and the final product.
